My Dad Never Gave Me Over as a Burnt Offering to the LORD, But That’s Okay
I’ll be honest, even though I’ve read the Bible several times, the story told in Judges 11:29-40 never caught my attention until I started listening to the Bible on Audible last year. “Wait, what? Did Jephthah really just offer his daughter as a burnt offering to the LORD?” I read it over and over trying to figure out what it even means.
Did Jephthah actually kill his daughter? If so, why does it
seem like she’s okay with it, just sad to be dying a virgin? And why is
Jephthah later listed in the Hall of Faith? (See Hebrews 11:32-34)
The thing is, we don’t really know what happened to
Jephthah’s daughter. However, there are some clues from the text that indicate
she was likely dedicated to God to live out her days as a virgin. (See this
article from Stand to Reason for more about this story: https://www.str.org/w/did-jephthah-kill-his-daughter-to-fulfill-a-vow-to-god-)
The point is, not every story in the Bible is meant to tell
us how to live our lives. When reading the Bible, we must understand that there
are prescriptive passages and descriptive passages. The story of Jephthah is a
descriptive passage-it is describing a historical event that happened, but it
is not providing a moral mandate.
Now let’s go back to the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. The
whole chapter is a nice little descriptive review of men of faith from the Old
Testament. Hebrews 11:32-34 says, “And what more shall I say? For time would
fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the
prophets-who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put
foreign armies to flight.” Consider the men listed in this passage (and in the
rest of Hebrews 11)-were any of them perfect? Far from it!
Gideon kept asking God for signs instead of trusting what
God had already told him to be true (Judges 6:36-40). David had an affair with
Uriah’s wife Bathsheba then set about on a pattern of sin in a futile attempt
to hide the offense (2 Samuel 11:1-27). Samson kept falling for women who
intended to draw him away from his call to serve the LORD (Judges 14-16). But
these men are not listed in the Hall of Faith because of their sins, they are
there because ultimately they repented and lived in faithful service to God.
What comes after the Hall of Faith passage? Hebrews 12:1-2
says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let
us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder
and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of
God.”
See the difference? Notice the phrase “let us”? Here is a
prescriptive passage-a moral mandate. Turn away from sin, endure through this
life, and turn to Jesus.
So the next time you read a particularly baffling passage of
the Bible, start by asking, “Is this descriptive or prescriptive?” Consider the
context-who is the intended audience? What is the author’s intent?
And be patient. Don’t get stuck too much on one passage-keep
reading! You might find that a question you have about a passage gets answered
somewhere else in Scripture. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are many
great resources out there that can help guide you in better understanding God’s
Word. I’ve included a few resources below to help you get started.
The Strong Concordance
Vine’s Dictionary of the Bible
Comments
Post a Comment